By David Nagel
It was a massive day for the Cora Lynn Football Netball Club on Saturday and only one result was going to please the masses.
With life members and legends from their first-ever flag in 1973 looking on, the Cobras were in a dog-fight early in the last quarter against long-time rivals Kooweerup.
It was impossible to split the two sides for the first-three quarters of football, with the Cobras taking a seven-point lead to three-quarter time after a four-goal-to-two third term.
A goal after the siren to dangerous half-forward Jai Rout gave the Cobras momentum heading to the final change of ends.
A big crowd gathered around Cora Lynn coach Shaun Sparks as he addressed his players for the last time.
“Create space, make the ground big, let’s use our leg-speed and see what they’ve got in the tank,” Sparks said with a rising voice, before pulling his players in tight and almost whispering.
“You’ve got 30 minutes to make these legends proud and to celebrate tonight in style.”
The words of Sparks seemed to fall on deaf ears early in the final term as Matt Voss, lurking dangerously in the forward line, kicked the first of the last quarter to square away the contest.
With Mitch Cammarano having a huge impact in the middle, the Demons then hit the front after Adam Amin kicked his fifth, and easiest goal for the day.
A 50-metre penalty brought Amin to the goal-line and things looked to be unravelling for the home side.
They needed an answer, needed it quick, and it could only come from one man.
Full-forward Nathan Gardiner sparked the Cobras into action, taking a strong grab to kick his sixth goal for the day, at the 13-minute mark of the last, to give the home side a two-point lead.
He then kicked his seventh two minutes later, converting a free-kick and propelling the Cobras to a 16.11.107 to 11.9.75 triumph.
The Demons were good, very good at times, moving the ball brilliantly and generally holding steadfast in defence.
But Gardiner was just too big and strong, having 10 shots at goal for the day.
Rout then kicked a team-inspiring beauty off his left, before the Gillis boys, Nathan and Ryan, capped off a special day with a unique double.
Nathan buried a set shot, 22 minutes in, to make it 19 points the difference, before Ryan kicked another without the ball going back to the square.
The last-quarter was niggling and antagonising, and the Demons buried any chance of victory as Ryan was pulled down in the goal-square after Nathan’s kicked had sailed over his head for six-points.
Ryan kicked truly from close range, letting the Demons know about it, and the Cobras were home.
Ryan then kicked another, putting the full stop on an impressive six-goal last-quarter performance.
The 32-point margin did no justice to the contest…the Demons were in this until the 18-minute mark of the last.
Sparks was a relieved coach after using the presence of club legends in the build-up.
“We did (use it) during the week, obviously it was a big day at the club and we heard all the names that were coming down and we wanted to represent the guys that have played before us and put a good product out on the field,” Sparks said post-match.
“For three quarters we did it in spurts, but hopefully the guys in the rooms were proud of our fourth-quarter performance.
“They listened to the instructions at three-quarter time, and I feel like in these moments, even last year against Goon in the elimination final, it wasn’t our day for three quarters, but when it’s time to win the game, they seem to inhale it and execute on the field.
“That fourth quarter, making the ground big, testing Kooweerup for leg-speed, it worked out perfectly for us.”
The Cobras are missing some key cattle at the moment, with class acts Cory Machaya, Jaxon Briggs and Brady White sitting on the sidelines and creating a challenging environment for Sparks and his coaching staff.
“It has been challenging, we’ve just been plugging and playing at the moment, ever since the Tooradin game,” Sparks explained.
“Losing Cory (Machaya), Jaxon (Briggs), Iceman (Brady White), we’re trying to build depth through our midfield group, and at times it has been exposed.
“But that comes down to experience and it will help the young guys that played in the middle today for the rest of the season.”
Sparks said some key moments made the difference, including a huge body-on-the-line moment from Rout early in the final term.
“Jai Rout, the effort with the 50-50 ball, normally some guys don’t take the body in those instances, but he’s played a lot of footy, as a younger guy in the team, to make that effort and win the footy was huge, it changed momentum,” the Cobras coach said.
“Nath Gillis up forward, he did his work around goal and probably had 11 clearances for the day, and we’ve done a mountain of work in the pre-season, and our second halves have been pretty good.
“Lukey Ryan, he did a big job on (Nathan) Voss in the last quarter, he’s been playing midfield for the last few weeks because of our injuries, but we took him out to play on Vossy and he did really well.”
And then, of course, there’s Gardiner.
“It’s a luxury…I think in the first four weeks he’s had over 50 shots at goal, but the better teams in the comp are going to put a lot of the attention on him, so we need to spread the load,” he explained.
“We got Ryan Gillis back for that sole reason, to give Gards a chop out, and that frees up Matty Ryan and players like that to play other roles as well.
“It’s a balancing act, him kicking goals or spreading the load, but all teams in the comp would love to have him as well.
“When it’s time to win games of footy, he knows what to do and more often than not he does it.”
The Cobras now have a week off, having played one more game than the rest of the competition, before rolling out the red carpet for a vastly-improved Dalyston in round five.
Sparks is content with his sides opening month of the season, sitting second on the ladder with three wins tucked away nicely.
“We’re three and one, and we took a lot out of that first game against Tooradin, because we were three goals up in the third quarter, until Piva Wright changed the game,” Sparks recalled.
“We’ve been up and down since that game, and obviously injuries don’t help, but we need to keep building depth in our midfield.
“With a young group, we’re trying to find the right mix, find consistency over four quarters, and that’s just going to take time.
“Up and down, three and one, we head into the bye, then a decent run after that, then hopefully we start to get a few players back.
“There’s four players to come back through the midfield, and that will help spread the load nicely.”
Gardiner with seven, and Ryan Gillis with four, were the standouts up forward for the Cobras, while Nathan Gillis slotted three in a best-on-ground performance.
Rout had important moments, while Heath Briggs, Nathan Villella and winger Jeremy Monckton were serviceable contributors all day.
Kooweerup coach Rhys Nisbet will be disappointed with the last-quarter fadeout, but should be encouraged by the attractive football and sustainable nature of it for 100-minutes of the contest.
Mitch Cammarano was outstanding through the midfield, providing real grunt and passion, while Nathan Voss was magnificent across half-forward.
His ability to play tall, but be clean at ground level, has always been impressive and he added to a long list of quality games by being a standout once again.
Adam Amin, with five, produced some high-quality finishing, while brother Musa was also impressive through the midfield.
If the Demons can reproduce this level, they should start favourites at home against Kilcunda-Bass this week.
It’s a massive game for both clubs, who will likely finish right next to each other on the ladder.
CORA LYNN 2.3 6.6 10.9 16.11(107)
KOOWEERUP 4.5 7.6 9.8 11.9(75)
Cora Lynn Goals: Nathan Gardiner 7, Ryan Gillis 4, Nathan Gillis 3, Jai Rout 2. Best: Nathan Gillis, Nathan Gardiner, Heath Briggs, Nathan Villella, Jeremy Monckton, Jai Rout.
Kooweerup Goals: Adam Amin 5, Nathan Voss 2, Travis Bindley, Tyler Evans, Timothy Miller, Matthew Voss. Best: Nathan Voss, Mitchell Cammarano, Adam Amin, Nathan Muratore, William McDonald, Musa Amin.
